Matthew Perry joins a heavenly chorus of pop stars—including Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury and Whitney Houston—as the greatest earners in the great beyond.
“Dying,” the pop culture critic Chuck Klosterman once wrote, “is the only thing that guarantees a rock star will have a legacy that stretches beyond temporary relevance.”
It also still pays well. In 2024, several music greats—including Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Bob Marley and Whitney Houston—are once again topping the charts of the highest-paid dead celebrities. Music catalog income and estate deals remain the top income generators for deceased recording artists.
The King of Pop’s estate scored a huge win in August, after a judge ruled that the $600 million catalog sale of his publishing and recorded masters’ rights to Sony could proceed, despite protestations from the late artist’s mother, Katharine Jackson. Meanwhile, multiple revenue streams keep the dollars moonwalking in, including MJ’s Broadway musical and touring productions. All told, Forbes estimates that Jackson has earned more than $3.3 billion since his death in 2009.
Meanwhile, Queen’s Freddie Mercury remains rock royalty in the afterlife, rejoining the list for the first time since 2020 with an estimated $250 million due to the group’s $1 billion catalog sale to Sony in June. Proceeds were split four ways among Mercury and the still living original band members Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, according to a source with close knowledge of the deal.
In keeping with estate deals, Ric Ocasek of The Cars (who died in 2019) earned $45 million after Primary Wave acquired a stake in his publishing, name, likeness, and image rights in September.
But it’s not all musicians who are earning the big bucks in the great beyond. The late Friends star Matthew Perry became the rare television actor to ever make the list. (The comedy duo Abbott & Costello—primarily considered film stars—were the first back in 1988, when Forbes launched the Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities list.) Perry, alongside costars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer, are estimated to pull in some $18 million annually in royalties from the megahit sitcom.
And if this year’s listmakers are hanging out at that Great Central Perk in the Sky, there is probably an iced tea and lemonade drink on the menu. Arnold Palmer’s namesake drink generates some $300 million annually in revenues, while spiked versions from Molson Coors pull in millions more, thanks to billionaire Don Vultaggio’s AriZona Beverages as well as the unquenchable love from Arnie’s Army.
Here are 2024’s highest-earning dead celebrities:
#1. $600 Million
Michael Jackson
June 25, 2009 (50) | Cause Of Death: Overdose/Homicide
The King of Pop still reigns in Germany, thanks to the international touring version of MJ: The Michael Jackson Musical. Jackson’s longtime estate attorney, John Branca, claims that tickets for the Hamburg opening in 2025 are selling out, with the potential to be the show’s largest market. Additional productions in London, Las Vegas, and the U.S. tour—separate from the Broadway show—pull in $6 million weekly.
#2. $250 Million
Freddie Mercury
November 24, 1991 (45) | Cause Of Death: AIDS
Queen’s inimitable frontman returns to the list for the first time in four years. The band’s $1 billion catalog sale in June was the highest price ever recorded at the time. In total, Mercury earned $241 million more than his 2020 appearance, thanks to a jump in estate earnings from the Rami Malek-helmed biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody.
#3. $75 Million
Dr. Seuss
September 24, 1991 (87) | Cause Of Death: Cancer
The beloved children’s book author (born Theodor Seuss Geisel) continues to delight young readers as The Cat In The Hat, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and The Lorax are introduced to new generations. Licensing for theme parks, TV, movies, and apparel make up the rest of the author’s earnings. Two new offerings include gold and silver collector’s coins and Dr. Seuss Babies, which are pint-sized versions of The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who, among others, are designed to entice the littlest of readers.
#4. $50 Million
Elvis Presley
August 16, 1977 (42) | Cause Of Death: Heart Attack
The King is dead, but his fans haven’t left his building. A combination of licensing, music streaming, and revenues generated by Graceland, his Memphis, Tennessee home, remain extremely profitable. Graceland welcomed 600,000 visitors in the past year, according to family representatives—despite a fraudster’s best efforts to sell it at a foreclosure auction in May. In August, the Department of Justice charged a Missouri woman with attempting to defraud the Presley family of millions.
#5. $45 Million
Ric Ocasek
September 15, 2019 (75) | Cause of Death: Cardiovascular Disease
Ocasek’s millions came from a September deal with Primary Wave, with the company acquiring a stake in the late Cars’ frontman’s publishing, name, image and likeness rights. Among many hits, Ocasek penned the group’s most popular single, “Just What I Needed,” which was named one of Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Ocasek and The Cars scored 13 Top 40 singles and have sold over 20 million records.
#6. $35 Million
Prince
April 21, 2016 (57) Cause of Death: Overdose
Income from Prince’s masters, including the iconic Purple Rain album, make The Purple One millions annually, along with revenues from his name, image, and likeness—as well as visitors to his Minneapolis compound, Paisley Park. Controversy has followed Prince into the afterlife, after news broke in July that a nine-hour Netflix documentary on his life and work may never see the light of day. Among the estate’s reported objections: they did not like the look of how Paisley Park, was shot on film, and they disliked a sequence comparing the lyrics of his song “Let’s Go Crazy”, which mention an elevator, with where the late singer’s body was found—an elevator in Paisley Park.
#7. $34 Million
Bob Marley
May 11, 1981 (36) | Cause of Death: Cancer
Marley’s posthumous income includes royalties from the singer’s catalog, in addition to what Primary Wave founder Larry Mestel calls a “big brand business,” including merchandise and other licensing opportunities. The Reggae legend’s earnings spiked in 2024 thanks to the release of his biopic Bob Marley: One Love. The Marley family also entered into (appropriately enough) a joint venture with the cannabis brand Jeeter on a one-of-a-kind cannabis brand this year.
#8. $30 Million
Charles M. Schulz
February 12, 2000 (77) | Cause of Death: Cancer
“Sparky,” as the late Peanuts cartoonist was known to his friends, earned another $30 million in 2024, thanks to brand collaborations and streaming. Snoopy stan accounts on TikTok are igniting Gen Z’s interest in the 70-year-old franchise, with merchandise featuring the beloved beagle, plus friends Charlie Brown and Woodstock, from retailers including CVS, Aeropostale, and Urban Outfitters selling out.
#9. $18 Million
Matthew Perry
October 28, 2023 (54) | Cause of Death: Overdose
Perry’s accidental overdose from ketamine in October 2023 caused a national outpouring of shock and grief, especially as the actor was publicly open about his past substance abuse and addiction issues. At least five people have been charged to date in the actor’s death. His 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, which details his battle with addiction, has reportedly sold over 2.5 million copies since publication. And like all of his castmates on Friends, he continues to earn more than $17 million a year in royalties—even in death.
#10. $17 Million
John Lennon
December 8, 1980 (40) | Cause of Death: Homicide
The legendary Beatle pulls in a reliable income annually due to fans’ everlasting devotion to his music. In November 2023, director Peter Jackson used the same A.I. technology he employed to restore The Beatles’ 1970 documentary, Let It Be, to produce a 1978 demo Lennon was unable to finish prior to his 1980 murder. The result was the single “Now And Then,” an effort bandmate Paul McCartney described as “the last Beatles song.”
#11. $15 Million
James Brown
December 25, 2006 (73) | Cause of Death: Heart Failure
The intellectual property of the “hardest working man in show business” generates millions annually. But Primary Wave, which holds Brown’s publishing, masters, and name and likeness rights, is aiming to supercharge earnings with its ownership of his South Carolina mansion. Restoration and archiving of Brown’s possessions in the 60-plus acre property are underway, with the goal of turning the home, and nearby city of Augusta, into a regional tourist attraction on par with Elvis’ Graceland.
#12. $14 Million
Arnold Palmer
September 25, 2016 (87) | Cause of Death: Cardiovascular Disease
What began as a homemade drink Palmer would carry on the links is now a bona fide business success. The Arnold Palmer iced tea and lemonade drink produced by AriZona sells some 500 million cans annually and his estate receives a royalty. Meanwhile, Molson Coors, which makes an alcoholic version of the 50/50 drink, says the hard Arnold Palmer is the nation’s no. 2 spiked tea.
#13. $13 Million
Whitney Houston
February 11, 2012 (48) | Cause of Death: Drowning
Whitney Houston may not have lived long enough to have a Las Vegas residency, but she is winning big in Sin City’s favorite casino game, the slot machine. Gamblers can try their luck at Whitney-branded slots that play her music and videos, while income is generated through a royalty percentage that increases as more games are played. At least 1,000 Whitney slots are set to launch through 2025, says Larry Mestel, whose Primary Wave manages her estate.
METHODOLOGY
This year’s Dead Celebrity ranking includes pretax earnings from sales, streams, licensing deals and other sources between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024, as well as estate acquisitions made or announced during the same period. Forbes compiles the numbers with the help of data from Luminate and interviews with industry insiders. Fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted.
This article was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
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